Couscous... never cooked it! help!

After some yummy and healthy couscous idea's. You will have to start from the very beginning coz i have never cooked it before!:redface:

thanks lovlies!

Is there no directions on the packet??

As a very basic starting off point you need an equal amount of boiling water to cous cous & it will absorb all the water. You can add some flavour by using stock instead of water too. Once all the water is absorbed, fluff it up with a fork & add in some butter.

One recipe we have uses orange juice, 2 tsp of cinammon & 2 cloves, boil that up & then add in an equal amount of cous cous to the orange juice. Very yummy :)

If you have time on your hands, the best method is to steam it - you end up with couscous as light as air. Figure 60g per person, and let it absorb cold water mixed with a little olive oil to start the process - 1/4 cup of cold water per serve. After about ten minutes, you throw the couscous into the top of a double boiler lined with muslin or a clean tea towel, and let it steam for fifteen minutes. Then you empty the couscous into a big bowl, let it cool, and spend about five or ten minutes rubbing the grains between your fingers and hands with a little more olive oil (or melted butter) to separate them - this helps the grain become fluffy. Once they are all separated, put them back on top of the tea towel-lined double boiler and allow to steam for twenty minutes. As I said - you need the time to do it, but it produces a far better result than the instant method. Good luck!

Couscous is easy! If it's the instant couscous, just put a cupful in a bowl and add a drizzle of olive oil. Stir thru the oil then add a cup of boiling water or stock. Stir it a bit and cover it for 5 minutes. Fluff it up with a fork and it's ready to go.
As a salad it's great with some roasted vegies and a lemony spicy salad dressing, or grated zucchini, fresh mint, currants, almond slivers and preserved lemon. Sometimes I mix thru chopped dried apricots and dates and a cinnamon and orange juice dressing with turmeric and plenty of fresh parsley and mint. Serve it hot with some butter melted thru, alongside casseroles, stews and tagines. It's also good as a stuffing for roasted chicken, mixed with herbs and spices. I could go on and on here...
I also put a spoonful of cooked couscous in DS's dinner, and he loves it in pumpkin soup.

I'll have to try Littleberlin's method, but I usually throw the couscous in a saucepan, cover it with boiling water from the kettle, then add a little more, maybe covering the couscous by about half the width of a finger (difficult to measure since you can't out your finger in - HOT WATER!) and then put the lid on the saucepan and wait a few minutes - maybe 3 or 4. Note the stove is npt turned on at this point, but I have gas instant heat. adapt as necessary for electric/ceramic. After the 3-4 minutes, the water should have been absorbed and you can throw in a BIG nob of butter. At this stage, or slightly earlier to let the saucepan heat up, you can turn the stove on and pump a bit of extra heat in. Let it melt a bit, and then fluff with a fork.

This method is not foolproof, and takes some getting used to to get the light as feather result, but it can be achieved with a little experience.

On the side I remember catching a flatmate boiling couscous like rice. I stopped him then and there, but probably should have let him go just to see the result :o

ok.. got how to cook it. thanks!

What are some things u can chuck in it like to be a side dish??? I got some chicken stock.. can i put that in the water when im cooking it????

thanks for the idea's :)

I always use chicken stock when I make up my couscous. Sometimes I just throw some frozen mixed vegies in with mine for when we're having a lazy meal like BBQ chicken. It is yummo.

Stock is a great idea to impart extra flavour - you could add toasted nuts and dried fruits and spices like cinnamon or cumin or cloves (or mixtures of spices) if you are doing something middle eastern. Or you could flavour it with tomatoes and herbs...I suppose it depends on what you are serving it with. Did someone mention salad? You could make a kind of tabbouleh with lots of parsley and mint, tomatoes, cucumber, red or spring onion, and dress it with olive oil and lemon juice. Now I feel like cooking it!

Things to chuck in:
spices (anything you fancy from cinnamon to cardamom to garam marsala or moroccan mix)
fresh herbs (whatever you have on hand)
sauteed mushrooms & toasted pinenuts
roasted pumpkin chunks and roasted capsicum
semi-dried tomatoes (diced) and cubed feta
handful of currants and a bit of curry powder

As you can see, this is an endlessly variable substance! I always start with stock and spices and then just chuck whatever in. Mmmmm.